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Spain's Rajoy expects positive data of employment

Xinhua, January 28, 2016 Adjust font size:

Spain's acting Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said on Wednesday that he expected "positive" data for the Inquest into the Active Population (EPA) that will be published on Thursday.

According to Rajoy, after the positive data unveiled by the Social Security System he expects positive data about the performance of employment during 2015.

His expectations are in line with those of the acting Minister of Employment, Fatima Banez, who said the figures that will be published on Thursday "will confirm that 2015 was a record year when it comes to reducing unemployment".

This data is a message of "hope and confidence", Banez said.

Meanwhile, Rajoy defended the labor reform carried out by his government in 2012 that made the labor market more flexible. He said that this reform boosted the creation of almost 600,000 jobs in 2015, however it has been very criticized by the opposition.

He also emphasized that the reform was praised by international actors and the European institutions and highlighted that he would be "hurt" if the new government of Spain modifies the law, which according to him helped Spain recover.

So far, no political party has achieved an agreement to form a government in Spain after the general elections in December last year.

The last Inquest into the Active Population was published in October reporting that 4.8 million people were out of work in Spain in the third quarter of 2015. The figure had meant 576,900 fewer jobless people in the country when compared with 2014. Endit